Very Important Announcements!

First Thomas Vanek scored the 10,000th goal in Sabres franchise history...

(Andy Marlin/Getty Images)

... and then he sounded his barbaric yawp.

(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

That picture completely cracks me up. I know exactly what moment in the game it's from because Mark and I were laughing our heads off. Vanek was just screaming and screaming and screaming and I'm sure it was Austrian gibberish that no one else in the building understood. Part of me was hoping that the 10,000th goal would be scored by someone really random like Toni Lydman or Henrik Tallinder or Teppo Numminen but based on this season thus far, it really had to be Van.

A couple of notes:

First of all, those of you who venture into the comment threads here will recognize the name Lee Andrew. Lee, for anyone who hasn't picked up on it, is my baby brother. Lee and some friends recently started a Mets blog called New York Mets Online. Now I can't speak for the other schmoes Lee's partnered up with - my gut instinct is that the likelihood of there being three Mets fans in the world who can spell and write in complete sentences is slim* - but if you're around when I bring up anything baseball related you've seen that Lee loves his baseball. In addition to that he has the three most important characteristics for a good blogger to have: he's opinionated, he's a good writer and he's border-line obsessed. Personally I'm hoping this whole blog thing cuts down on the very lengthy, fine-detailed emails I get about the latest relief pitching prospect the Mets have traded. Let me tell you, that whole long-winded thing? It runs in the family. Anyway, I know there are some baseball fans out there and I figure maybe there are some Mets fans out there too, this blog being based in New York and all. Do me a big favor and check it out. It has the official Heather B. Stamp of Approval.

I clearly remember having every one of these baseball cards. ("Nice game, pretty boy!")

Second of all, posting will probably be light around here for the next two weeks. This week is the last week of school before break which is tough on the kids which makes for long, exhausting days for the adults. I am going to the game on Wednesday night so I'll probably post something about that but that might be it unless something big comes up. The week of Christmas I'll be in sweet home Alabama which really might as well be a different planet as far as blogging about the NHL goes. I believe one of the games that week is on Versus so hopefully I'll catch at least some of it but otherwise I expect fun and family to put blogging on the back burner. Don't forget about me though because I'll be back in full-force after the new year.

* - Just kidding, bro. It's not like you're Yankees fans after all.

And You Thought Election Season Was Over

So one of my favorite blogs, First Time Caller, Long Time Listener, has been doing a Buffalo Media showdown for the last couple of weeks. They started with a bracket of 16 of Buffalo's sports media personalities - newspaper writers, radio personalities, TV talking heads - and are slowly moving toward crowning their official blog media personality. Readers cast their votes via a poll, leaving a comment in support of their candidate if they so desire and the winner lives to fight another day. So far Dennis Williams, Stu Boyer, John Vogl, Mike Schopp, Bulldog, Paul Hamilton, Jerry Sullivan, Jeremy White, Ed Kilgore, Howard Simon, Jeff Russo and Bucky Gleason have all been cast aside. Still standing are Nick Mendola and Mike Harrington in one bracket, John Murphy and Brad Riter in the other bracket.

I've been meaning to plug this since it started because it's been pretty entertaining so far and some of the comments on the polls have been fun to read. It hasn't taken long to suss out that certain bloggers/readers have their favorites and I guess my pick must be pretty obvious because Tedd, one of the proprietors of FTLT, emailed me this weekend to ask me if I would write a little campaign speech for the Buffalo News' Mike Harrington. Mike is up against Nick Mendola and it seems that Tedd and Nick have been friends for a few years and Tedd was having a hard time writing an objective post. Evidently he's not aware that bloggers are in no way required to be objective. Either that or he's just a nice guy who's trying to be fair.

Either way, it was kind of fun since while I would definitely call myself a Mike Harrington fan I hadn't ever really thought about why. If you're interested - and I don't know why you wouldn't be - you can find that post at FTLT at some point today. I can't link you there directly because it hasn't been posted as of this writing Sunday night but come on, I think you can handle some of these things yourself.

I'm sure Tedd will write an interesting, funny intro for Nick Mendola because that's what he does. But if you're smart, love blogs and want to remain my friend, you'll vote for Harrington.

(Just kidding.)

My name is Mike Harrington and I've approved this message.*

* - Not entirely true.

One Week Down...

So this week did not go at all as planned. Remember how I was going to be driving boxes back and forth from the apartment to the house all week? Didn't happen. We hit yet another snag in the closing process - seriously, buying a house is one big pain the butt - so we're now moving next week. Or Mark's moving next week I should say since I'll be somewhere in Pennsylvania. Heh. (For the record, I did offer to bail on my family and stay here to help but I was told that was out of the question.)

Still, I did manage to squeeze in some good stuff. I got a lot of reading done which delights me since that goes on the back burner a lot of the time. Watched some DVDs. Stayed up till all hours of the morning and then slept in to compensate while also indulging in the occasional afternoon nap. Did some shopping, both the fun and non-fun variety. (I came across these while looking for a birthday present for my nephew, Luke. Luke's pretty lucky there were no Han and Chewies in stock because it would've been happy birthday, Aunt Heather.) Chillaxed at the Bisons game yesterday with a friend. (I was supposed to be seeing Travis Hafner but his rehab schedule didn't coincide with my schedule. I did see Victor Martinez though.) And Kate's coming over in a couple of hours and we're going to see if we can pull together a podcast.

So it was a fairly quiet week but I love those weeks. I'm planning on having a lot of fun next week but it'll be a lot more go, go, go so resting up this week probably worked out well.

Ideally I'll be making at least a couple of posts from PA but I'm not sure what the wireless situation is going to be since we'll be bouncing around so we'll see what happens.

Here's a slightly more detailed recap of my week:

THE LAST FIVE THINGS I WATCHED:
1. Baseball Tonight
2. Mets vs. Astros
3. Seinfeld (The Burning - "Don't boss me! This is why you're going to hell.")
4. The Wire (Just finished up season 2, moving on to season 3. I find this show very difficult to watch sometimes - there was a moment in season 1 that made me cry more than anything else on TV ever - but it's so, so good.)
5. Project Runway

THE LAST FIVE SONGS I LISTENED TO:
1. Want To - Sugarland (Totally obsessed with Sugarland right now. I'm not really fond of a lot of female vocalists but I love Jennifer Nettles' voice.)
2. You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This - Toby Keith
3. Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band (I know I said they're overrated but I do like this song quite a bit.)
4. Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) - U2 (I don't go out of my way to listen to Christmas music in the off-season but if it comes up on my iPod and it's a song I really like, I won't change it.)
5. Small Town - John(ny) (Cougar) Mellencamp

THE LAST FIVE THINGS I READ:
1. Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant - Daniel Tammet
2. Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's - John Elder Robison (I didn't really meant to read these two back-to-back - I had Look Me In the Eye on request at the library for a long time and it showed up right after I checked out Born on a Blue Day - but they actually made for a very interesting one-two punch.)
3. Hope's Boy - Andrew Bridge
4. The Big Field - Mike Lupica (I'm not super familiar with Lupica's newspaper work although I hate him on Sports Reporters which used to be one of my favorite shows. I have read almost all of his YA novels however and I do like them a lot.)
5. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

LAST FIVE NON-HOCKEY WEBSITES I VISITED:
1. Celebrity Baby Blog
2. Fire Joe Morgan
3. YouTube: Punch-Up in Piestany (I'd never seen this video until a few days ago and I can't even tell you how many times I've watched it since then. I'm completely fascinated by it. If you've never seen it - or even if you have - you should check it out. Whoops. I guess this one is kind of hockey related. Oh, well.)
4. Gizmodo (Gotta keep up on my iPod rumors!)
5. Do They Have Salsa in China? (For a while we were talking about international adoption and I got hooked on this blog then.)

FIVE THINGS I HOPE HAPPEN WHILE I'M ON VACATION:
1. Jason Pominville signs a contract for 25/5.
2. Jason Pominville signs a contract for 25/5.
3. Jason Pominville signs a contract for 25/5.
4. Jason Pominville signs a contract for 25/5.
5. Jason Pominville signs a contract for 25/5.

You know what, here's the Punch-Up for those of you too lazy to follow a link. It's awesome.



I'm out! I'll see you when I see you!

I Wanna Be Kate! Kate! Kate! Kate!

Please open this link in another tab or window, turn up your speakers, and listen to it while you read the following. It's the mood-setter:

I love the Buffalo blogosphere. I do. I think it's full of cool people who write really good blogs. Funny, smart, and insightful blogs. We got it all somewhere, folks. I think we also mostly like each other and support each other which is really nice. We're like a little family. I want people to read my blog but I also want people to read Bfloblog, and the Goose's Roost, and Shots Off the Crossbar etc. etc. That said, I'm not going to lie, I have a special little place in my heart for one Sabres blog out there. If Kevin is the cool dad, always there to hang out or offer support and the Roost guys are the goofy little brothers that you can't help but love even when you want to (affectionately) punch them in the head a little then Katebits is my really cool twin sister.

Kate and I entered the hockey blogosphere around the same time. She started reading and commenting on blogs about the time I started Top Shelf - I believe she was one of my first commenters - and I had the pleasure of being around while she was in the planning stages of the Willful Caboose which is, as you all know, a totally kickin' blog. If you just read my blog, you're missing out on some things. If you just read the Willful Caboose, you're missing out on some things. But if you read BOTH blogs, I think you have a pretty complete picture and that's kind of how I think of Kate and me in general. Separately we both have holes in our knowledge, small (very small) weaknesses, blind spots. Together? Well, it's just a matter of time before we take over the Buffalo media because we're awesome. Consider that your warning, Buffalo. In addition to being an awesome blogger, Kate's just a really cool chick. She's smart and funny and a lot of fun to hang out with. As the song says, when she smiles it's a rainbow and you can see daisies in her footsteps. No, it's true!

The reason I bring this up now is because it was one year ago today that the Willful Caboose officially entered the world. I remember the shift in the interwebs like it was yesterday. Things will never be the same and that's a good thing. I think. I'm pretty sure. So here's a hearty "Happy anniversary!" to Kate and a boisterous, "Let's go Buff-a-lo!" to everyone who makes the Buffalo blogosphere what it is. And yes, that includes you.

I wanna be Kate!

Disclaimer: I picked the song "Kate" to accompany this post for obvious reasons but I have never seen Katebits smoke pot. Just so we're clear.

Seriously, When Does the Season Start? I'm Really Bored.

A few days ago Pookie sent me a link to USA Hockey Magazine's list of the best blogs on the internet. Yesterday Mirtle posted a link to the list and the accompanying article and since I'm bored and there's nothing else going on, I'm going to give you my take. Here's a link to just the blog list if you're not interested in the article. (Click on the image to enlarge it enough to read it.) I have a few immediate reactions:

1. Hockeybuzz? Really? I can't think of another blog out there that would make me take a list less seriously than Hockeybuzz. Hockeybuzz has, in my opinion, probably done more damage to hockey bloggers than just about any other site. Are there some talented people writing over there? I don't know, maybe. All I can tell you for sure is that Garth, the Sabres blogger, can't punctuate, can't write a complete sentence, and clearly doesn't know how to use spell-check and Eklund is a douchebag who lets real journalists do all the work and then pretends he got the information from an inside source. At least when I steal an idea or tidbit from someone, I give them credit and a link. I know tons of people read Hockeybuzz but popular does not equal quality.

2. I'm really disappointed at how many of the blogs on the list are written by professionals. I have nothing against professionals writing blogs - I read a few pretty regularly including, of course, Sabres Edge (Bucky seems to be in charge right now though so if you follow the link, don't say I didn't warn you) - but I don't know, when I think of sports blogs I think of passionate and yes, subjective fans. After reading the accompanying article I'm even more perplexed by the lack of fan written blogs because the article really focuses on how blogs have become the voice of the fan and are often written by amateurs. Although it does talk about how the popularity of blogs has forced traditional media to change its way of working so maybe I'm in the minority on still thinking of blogs as the home of the obsessed fan.

3. Ted's Take is not a great blog. I think it's wonderful that Ted Leonsis is so enthusiastic about the Capitals and I think it's wonderful that he goes out of his way to interact with fans but his blog is basically links to articles with comments like, "I really like this one!" or "I'm not sure I agree with this one!" I certainly wouldn't call it "a rare and honest view from inside the front office." It's nice. It's fine. It's not great. If it were written by anyone else, no one would read it.

4. I suppose you could come up with a more underwhelming list of blogs to recommend to blog newbies but I don't know. But don't mind me. I'm mostly just annoyed that I don't actually read most of the blogs on this list and don't enjoy some of the ones I have read. I'm sure it's all a matter of opinion. I'm a blogger, that's what we do.

A better list? Terry Frei's ranking of NHL coaches that puts Lindy Ruff in the elite category as one of the four best coaches in the league. That's what I'm talking about.

Did I Say I Don't Like the Buffalo News?

Check it out, yo! I'm famous!

I knew saying nice things about Mike Harrington would pay off eventually!

(I'm going to try to take the rest of the weekend off from hockey talk so I'll see you guys in a few days. Or tomorrow if I crack.)

ETA: Mark's harassing me because I haven't said anything about Craig Rivet yet. ("The biggest trade the Sabres have made in years and you haven't written anything! This is your job!") So for the record, Craig Rivet = good. Experienced, supposedly a good team guy, plays the PP and kills penalties (two things a certain other UFA d-man doesn't do very often), and doesn't hesitate to throw down with people who pick on his teammates. I'll take that. My favorite thing about the signing is all the people who shifted from, "THIS TEAM NEEDS A VETERAN!" to "THIS GUY IS SO OLD!" with no hesitation.

Buzz Bissinger is an Angry, Close-Minded Jackass

Who knew?

I generally try to avoid blogging about blogging because I'm just not sure that most people find it that interesting but I'm going to make an exception here. The blogging world is all atwitter over a panel discussion - and I use the word discussion loosely - that recently took place on Costas Now, hosted by Bob Costas. It would be helpful if you watched the video found here but I'm going to try not respond too specifically to it so it's not necessary. I think it's pretty interesting and entertaining though and if you read or write blogs you might think so too.

I have a lot of problems with Buzz Bissinger's take on blogs. For one, I think it's really deceiving to center a conversation about an entire medium on the worst of that medium which both Bissinger and Costas repeatedly admitted they were doing. Of course there are poorly written, shrill blogs out there. There are poorly, written shrill newspapers writers too but you don't see me tearing down the entire institution because of those guys. If I'm going to have an intelligent discussion about newspapers today, I'm not going to focus on the guy in Ottawa who suggested the Senators test out just how healed Sidney Crosby's ankle was. It would be stupid for me to ignore all the quality writing going on in newspapers to focus on that.

I also think it's stupid that Costas and Bissinger were reading comments on Deadspin and passing judgement on Deadspin because of them. Obviously, the people commenting on a blog are not the same people writing the blog and it's not fair to hold stupid comments against the blogger. That would be like reading the letters to the editor or emails inspired by a certain column and holding them against the column or columnist. (I do think that some old-school journalists are just not sure what to make of comments at all though. Watching the Buffalo News blogs develop has been interesting because I think there are some writers who understand comments and how they ideally lead to some interaction between writer and reader and I think there are some writers who seem a little taken aback at how strongly people sometimes respond to their writing and seem unsure how to respond to that or if they should respond at all.)

But my main problem with the panel is that Bissinger and Costas both seem determined that everything be reduced to a competition between writers with access and writers without access, journalists vs. bloggers. Costas says there is something to a fan's point of view but then says, "There are some things that couldn't possibly be done except by someone with some talent and powers of observation who has that access." That's completely valid and I don't know a single blogger who wouldn't agree. I don't think bloggers want people with press passes and special access to go away. I want to know about those moments between athletes and between athletes and coaches and athletes and fans that I'm not going to see from my seat at HSBC or my couch at home. I read lots of blogs but I also read the sports section in the newspaper and not just the local one. I read lots of blogs but I've also read most of Bissinger's sports books. It's not an either/or. I like reading people in the know but I also enjoy talking to other fans about our opinions and takes on what's going on.

Bissinger also seems very hung up on how the writing is presented. He seems to think that because writing appears online, it automatically has less worth. He brings up W.C. Heinz, ignores that Will Leitch of Deadspin is familiar with Heinz because it doesn't fit in with his idea that these darn kids today don't have any appreciation for good writing and asks who can better capture the feelings and emotions of a game or sporting event, Heinz or some blogger? First of all, way to stack the deck by comparing one of the best sports writers of all-time to an imaginary and symbolic writer who doesn't actually exist. Second of all, good writers are good writers are good writers. There are good writers writing for newspapers, there are good writers writing for magazines, and there are good writers writing on the internet. (There are also bad writers writing for newspapers, bad writers writing for magazines, and bad writers writing on the internet.) If Heinz had been born 33 years ago instead of 93 years ago, guess what? His writing would be online. He'd be typing his column on a laptop and emailing it to an editor and even if it's going to be printed in an ink and paper newspaper, that column is also going to show up on his newspaper's website. (Because in this day and age his paper better have a website of some kind.) Is that column suddenly lesser quality because people are reading it on their computers instead of on paper?

I think what Bissinger and a lot of other journalists don't understand is that many, many bloggers are not interested in being journalists. There seems to be a misconception that we're all aspiring to higher things and falling short, and while some of us probably are professional writers in training, some of us aren't. I don't pretend to be an expert, I don't pretend to be working in the trenches with the guys getting paid. I think it's pretty clear that what I'm writing is what I think and feel, nothing more and nothing less. Most fan bloggers want to converse with other fans while maybe attempting to capture what it's like to watch and care about a team in a way that the guy in the press box can't. The guy sitting in the press box can certainly write great pieces and he's going to write things that I can't. But I can write things he can't because he's not going to see the same things and experience the same emotions as the 30-year-old female in the cheap seats or the 22-year-old male banging on the glass or the 63-year-old life-long fan who is finally seeing his team win a championship. One point-of-view isn't more valid or right or important than the other. They're just different.

Bissinger's assertion that "blogs are dedicated to cruelty" is especially offensive. Maybe some blogs are and fans can definitely get cranky when they feel let down but the sports blogs I read are clearly written out of love and affection for a sport or a team. I know he's an older guy who's freaking out about a changing world but I feel sad for Bissinger that someone as talented as he is can't see or understand that.

(Bissinger might be an angry, close-minded jackass but he's not wrong about W.C. Heinz. I highly recommend What a Time it Was: The Best of W.C. Heinz on Sports. He made me briefly care about things I have no interest in like boxing and horse racing. Really good stuff.)

Top Shelf Review: Cold-Cocked: On Hockey

I'm going to take a break from the Sabres today. I've had this book review half-written for weeks now and this seems like a good time to throw it up for public consumption. Happy Easter! I'll be back on Monday.

It was with much anticipation that I curled up in my blankets with Lorna Jackson's Cold-Cocked: On Hockey. I'd heard a lot about how it was the first book about hockey from the perspective of a female fan and I was ready to absolutely love it to pieces. Unfortunately, I wanted to love it more than I actually did love it.

I will admit up front that I was a little turned off before I even started reading the book. I flipped it over to read the back cover blurb and read the following:

Star-struck biographies, nostalgic histories, gonzo road trips: hockey books say we're obsessed with the game because we grew up wanting to be players. Not women.

I've mentioned before that I didn't grow up watching hockey but when I was a little girl watching baseball I totally wanted to be the players. I wanted to be diving across the field to grab the scorching line drive. I wanted to make a perfect throw to nail the runner at the plate. I wanted to feel the crack of the bat, wave the ball into fair territory and run around the bases, fist high while the crowd went bananas and chanted my name. When my sixth grade counselor and I set long-term goals, I said, in total seriousness, that I was going to play in the Majors. Even now when it's pretty safe to say I've missed my chance to make the NHL, I watch hockey with a little bit of sadness that I didn't grow up in an area where kids played it. I don't know how good I would have been at it but knowing the kind of kid I was and the kind of athlete I was, I do know I would've loved playing it. I thought saying "women don't watch hockey that way" was a pretty broad statement to make in a time when lots of little girls are playing hockey, more colleges have womens programs, and the USA and Canada, among many other countries, have women;s national teams. So I kind of went into the book feeling like maybe it wasn't for female fans like me.

There's a lot in Cold-Cocked about Jackson's family - her father, their relationship through the years, her relationship now with her daughter - and other parts of her personal life. While I mostly see how the things connect in her mind - she talks a lot about the rhetoric of hockey as war and players as warriors in comparison to her father who was captured and held prisoner for a time in World War II - I think the way the different aspects are spread across the book is disjointed and kind of all over the place. The transition from the stories about her father's life to the travails of the Canucks are not always very smooth. Her father has an interesting story, it just often felt to me like I was reading two very different books.

Which is not to say the book was all bad. When Jackson does talk about hockey it's interesting and funny and different from a lot of "rah-rah, sports are beautiful" sports writing. She's clearly a fan of the game but she also doesn't hesitate to criticize it, particularly on the topic of violence. I don't have a problem with fighting in general but there have definitely been times when I've been disgusted with how little the league or the players or the Flyers certain teams seem to care about head shots and concussions. Concussions are not broken arms or sprained knee ligaments. When you're dealing with them, you're dealing with a guy's long-term health, something that's going to affect him long after his playing days are through. Jackson is following the Canucks during the time of the Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi incident so that gives her ample opportunity to talk about some of the issues surrounding the game that bother her.

I did also really enjoy the sections of the book that dealt with Jackson's efforts to get interviews with a few players for the book. I have no doubt that being a female in the world of pro sports journalism is sometimes bizarre and uncomfortable even in this day and age and I liked how honest Jackson was about her desire to come across as professional and intelligent but also at least somewhat attractive and how thrilling it was to be up-close with the players she roots for. In those moments, the book really is different from other hockey writing.

But in the end I just didn't feel like there were enough of those moments. And while I do appreciate that there is sometimes a difference in how males and females take in sports and athletes, I don't think it's as easy as men here and women over there. I'm writing this long after I finished the book so I have to admit that now I don't know if it was really the book itself or just the press releases and reviews that came with the book, but it was definitely presented as, "Finally! A woman speaks about hockey!" And while it's true that there doesn't seem to be a ton of writing out there by women about hockey, as I said in the first paragraph, I'm obviously coming at sports different than Jackson is and it's possible I would've liked the book a little more if it had been less "This is how women feel about hockey!" and more "This is how this particular woman feels about hockey." One of my favorite fellow bloggers is Kate of The Willful Caboose and while we're both smart, reasonably insightful fans of hockey (in my oh so humble opinion :P) I think it's pretty safe to say that if we both wrote books about following the Sabres they'd be two very different books.

And while I'm totally getting off-track here (I'm sorry!), at the risk of upsetting my fellow female hockey fans and bloggers, I'm kind of over the whole "I'm a female hockey blogger!" thing. Don't get me wrong, one of my favorite things about the hockey blogosphere is that there are a ton of really smart blogs being written by women and I very, very rarely run into a neanderthal male blogger who disregards my opinion because my handle is clearly a female one which is a refreshing change from real-life. When I first started writing Top Shelf I was very self-conscious about saying anything that was too female-y - I never talked about players being good-looking for example - because I wanted people to take my blog somewhat seriously and I worried that if I mentioned Henrik Tallinder's dimple or Jochen Hecht's shy smile, people would immediately label me a puck bunny. But eventually I decided that was stupid. If John Vogl can talk about which team has the best-looking Ice Girls and still be taken seriously as a journalist, why can't I acknowledge that I think Hank is an extremely talented defenseman AND an extremely handsome man? I don't want to sleep with him. I'm not even sure half the time I want to actually meet him. But yeah, I kind of noticed that he's good-looking. I figure there's enough hockey content here to balance that out and anyone who would accuse me of being a puck bunny is probably not that smart and therefore not worth worrying about. I'm proud to be a woman blogger but I don't really have a desire to wave a flag and yell I AM A WOMAN BLOGGER and I'm just not sure how important it is to other people that I'm female. Do people go read Goose's Roost for the male point-of-view and then come here thinking, "Now to get the female point-of-view!" I don't know, maybe they do. I don't really think so though. I'm just... another blogger, you know?

Anyway... Back to Cold-Cocked. In the end I liked it enough that I would probably check out something else written by Lorna Jackson but it definitely left me wanting. I do seem to be in the minority though from what I've seen. Here are some other reviews:

Scarlett Ice
Untypical Girls
Hockey Blog in Canada

Written By Anonymous

So I have this anonymous commenter that has popped up a couple times now, always on posts that are months old. I deleted the last comment without writing it down but it went a little something like this:

Hether,
Your a tool. Never right anything like this again.

To which I say, dude, at the very least, could you spell my name correctly? It's over there on the right next to the picture of Hank and at the bottom of EVERY SINGLE POST!

Here's comment number two:

You guys all suck for jumping on the ban wagon shut up i hate him i hate that shut up already have you ever been in the nhl[tougher than it looks]So you dont know what its like GO BUFFALO

I see you decided to skip my name. Too tough, right, with the whole silent A? Well, I applaud you for at least recognizing your limitations although you really don't have much excuse for missing the hard "d" at the end of "band." Also? Brilliant job picking out one of three or four really negative posts I've written this season. Seriously, do you pay attention? I'm the hopeful optimist of Buffalo! I'm the one who excused losing Danny, Chris, Jay, Soupy and pretty much every guy ever! I'm the one who said the team would be fine without all of those guys! I'm the one who'd rather meet and chat with Darcy Regier than any hockey player in the league! I'm the one who only just publicly admitted LAST WEEK that the Sabres probably weren't going to win the Stanley Cup! And I didn't even really mean it! I totally think they're still going to win it all and I won't believe they're not until the season's over!

It's true. I have one guiding thought when it comes to watching sports in general but the NHL specifically: You never know. Once the playoffs start, YOU NEVER KNOW! A goalie or top scorer that goes hot or cold changes everything. An average team that strings together a bunch of wins can go all the way, a great team that struggles can hit the skids fast. It's awesome! It's amazing! And YOU NEVER KNOW! Why give up on your team when YOU NEVER KNOW?!

I'm getting off-track a bit, but I have to say, this is what I most don't understand about Buffalo. I get that the team is less talented than the two teams that went to the Conference finals. I get that the team has been desperately and frustratingly inconsistent. I get that it's pretty hard to have any faith that they're suddenly going to right that here and now, nine games before the end of the season. I get that for some people it's a defense mechanism, kind of I'm going to break up with you before you have a chance to break my heart kind of thing. I get that between the four Super Bowl losses, the No Goal, the Music City Miracle, and random things like goals scored through the sides of nets, the instinct is to be bitter and cynical and I get wanting everyone else to feel that way too.

Except I don't! I don't get it at all! What's the point of sports if you're going to be all bitter and cynical? Why watch players who you seem to think suck and are worthy of all your hate? Why not enjoy when the team you root for does win even if it is fleeting and hard to predict? And why - WHY - must you travel all over the internet and city spreading your pessimism to everyone who clings to a shred of hope? If I wanted to wallow in cynicism and hopelessness I'd pay more attention to politics. I don't watch sports for that stuff! I watch sports for all the good stuff - watching people in awesome athletic displays that regularly blow my mind, to cheer on people who I've never met and probably never will meet and don't really care if I do meet and totally feel attached to anyway, and to hope for those guys to triumph in the face of ridiculous odds. Not only do I want to be optimistic, I want to be STUPID optimistic. Okay, let me get back on course...

Look, anonymous commenter, I have no real beef with you. I'm a little offended that you're lumping me in with the ban wagon fans of the world but I can appreciate your GO SABRES! attitude. But come on. Look at the comment again. Am I really supposed to take that seriously? For the future, here are a few guidelines for you and the anonymous commenters of the world who might wander by:

1. Spell any and all names in your comments correctly. This applies to any players but it goes double for me. Seriously, my name is all over the friggin' place and it's not exactly uncommon.

2. Punctuate. If you're not sure where the period goes, just take a guess once in a while.

3. Make a criticism that actually makes sense. If you're going to attack someone's outlook, look around you first. Read more than one entry, maybe read something from the last two months. Respond to what the person you're responding to is actually saying.

4. Man up and leave a name. Dude, if you really have to, use a fake name. It's not like I'll know. But real names are preferable. If you're say... I don't know... Tim Connolly, just fess up. Anonymous comments are lame, yo.

(I am in no way suggesting that Tim Connolly can't spell, punctuate, or read. And I'm sure he's totally above leaving lame comments on the internet. I would never say that he's not that smart. Never.)

(But okay, doesn't that second comment sound like something a drunken Connolly might leave somewhere. "Have YOU ever (hic!) played (hic!) HOCKEY BEFORE? Haaave yoooou?! 'Cause it's really, really (hic!) (swaying back and forth) REALLY HARD! (passes out)")

I Got Nothing

I got nothing.

I've been sitting here staring at my screen and I can't come up with a single coherent thought - positive or negative - about this game or this team. I'm completely blank inside. I have thoughts on other things but when I try to zero in on hockey all I can remember is Harry Neale talking about Henrik Tallinder making a misplay when he wasn't even on the ice. There's nothing else. I think my mind is trying to protect me by blocking everything hockey related out.

However, I have nothing else to do right now - so I'm going to throw out some stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with hockey. Feel free to comment. Hey, it might be good for you to block it out too, you know.

- I'm about halfway through the second season of Battlestar Galactica and I really, really like it a lot. It's no Firefly but what is? I'm hoping to catch up with it completely before it starts back up with the new season. I totally hated Starbuck at first but she's kind of grown on me. I have a weird thing about Edward James Olmos - he creeps me out - so I wasn't sure how that was going to work out but he's good. I'm all about Tigh. That guy kills me even if he is a screw-up.

- When Lost is all said and done, all I really want is a happy ending for Desmond (my current wallpaper) and Penny. I hate Jack and Kate. Could not care less about them. I like Locke and Sawyer but they're probably both domed and I'm fine with that. But if Desmond and Penny don't reunite, get married, have lots of adorable babies and live happily ever after, I'm going to be disappointed. Disappointed enough that the whole show will be a let-down for me. I really think they've become the emotional underpinnings of the whole show. What do you think the chances of a happy ending actually are?

- I've long been opposed to a new Indiana Jones movie, not because Harrison Ford is old but because I think they were pretty lucky to get out with three decent to great movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark - great, Temple of Doom - decent, Last Crusade - good). I had no desire to see that ruined, particularly after hearing the first script wasn't up to George Lucas's standards. (Lucas is certainly a genius when it comes to certain things but screenwriting is not one of those things.) But I'm not gonna lie, the teaser trailer for the new movie gave me happy chills. Usually there's only one summer movie I really HAVE to see and everything else goes in the rental pile but this year there are a few big movies I want to see in addition to the new Indy, The Dark Knight and Iron Man being the other two must-sees. I'm so stoked about Robert Downey, Jr. in Iron Man.

- Since BSG has been sucking up most of my time, I haven't watched a lot of movies lately. I did see Across the Universe which I really expected to hate but I kind of liked it. Parts of it didn't work (skip the Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite sequence) but parts of it were really sweet and touching, I thought. The lead guy's voice reminded me a little of Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge so that was a plus in his favor since I adore Ewan in MR.

- I want Jillian to win Project Runway, but I think it's going to be Christian. Which will annoy me to no end.

- I've been devouring U2 by U2 the last few days. I got this for Christmas last year - it's a coffee table book full of little tiny print interviews and tons of amazing photos - and while I loved what I read, at the time I was working two jobs and it was tough to carry around with me so I didn't get too far into it. I pulled it down off the bookshelf Friday night and have gotten totally lost in it. It's very cool because unlike most U2 things which focus on Bono and Edge, this includes exhaustive interviews with all four guys. I've always had a soft spot for Larry - so handsome! so stoic and private! so dryly funny! - so I'm loving getting into his head a little. (My favorite album is The Joshua Tree although I think their best album is Achtung Baby. My ten favorite U2 songs - off the top of my head, no thought at all which is the only way I can do this or I'll be here all night changing the list: I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Bad, All I Want Is You, One, Until the End of the World, Acrobat, Wake Up Dead Man, Beautiful Day, City of Blinding Lights. Interesting. Maybe Achtung Baby is my favorite album. Okay, I'm changing the subject now because I'm already having second thoughts about that list and I could do this forever.) I've never seen a book with its own commercial. That's pretty cool.

- Some of my favorite non-hockey sports blogs/websites: Fire Joe Morgan, Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?, The Dugout, SportsJustice (for the Astros stuff - I skip the football and basketball talk), and The Hardball Times. Guess I should have just said "baseball" instead of "non-hockey."

- And now I leave with you my favorite recent YouTube video:



Worst blog entry ever? Maybe so. Better than that Sabres game? It might be.

Top Shelf Review: Cold-Cocked: On Hockey

I'm going to take a break from the Sabres today. I've had this book review half-written for weeks now and this seems like a good time to throw it up for public consumption. Happy Easter! I'll be back on Monday.

It was with much anticipation that I curled up in my blankets with Lorna Jackson's Cold-Cocked: On Hockey. I'd heard a lot about how it was the first book about hockey from the perspective of a female fan and I was ready to absolutely love it to pieces. Unfortunately, I wanted to love it more than I actually did love it.

I will admit up front that I was a little turned off before I even started reading the book. I flipped it over to read the back cover blurb and read the following:

Star-struck biographies, nostalgic histories, gonzo road trips: hockey books say we're obsessed with the game because we grew up wanting to be players. Not women.

I've mentioned before that I didn't grow up watching hockey but when I was a little girl watching baseball I totally wanted to be the players. I wanted to be diving across the field to grab the scorching line drive. I wanted to make a perfect throw to nail the runner at the plate. I wanted to feel the crack of the bat, wave the ball into fair territory and run around the bases, fist high while the crowd went bananas and chanted my name. When my sixth grade counselor and I set long-term goals, I said, in total seriousness, that I was going to play in the Majors. Even now when it's pretty safe to say I've missed my chance to make the NHL, I watch hockey with a little bit of sadness that I didn't grow up in an area where kids played it. I don't know how good I would have been at it but knowing the kind of kid I was and the kind of athlete I was, I do know I would've loved playing it. I thought saying "women don't watch hockey that way" was a pretty broad statement to make in a time when lots of little girls are playing hockey, more colleges have womens programs, and the USA and Canada, among many other countries, have women;s national teams. So I kind of went into the book feeling like maybe it wasn't for female fans like me.

There's a lot in Cold-Cocked about Jackson's family - her father, their relationship through the years, her relationship now with her daughter - and other parts of her personal life. While I mostly see how the things connect in her mind - she talks a lot about the rhetoric of hockey as war and players as warriors in comparison to her father who was captured and held prisoner for a time in World War II - I think the way the different aspects are spread across the book is disjointed and kind of all over the place. The transition from the stories about her father's life to the travails of the Canucks are not always very smooth. Her father has an interesting story, it just often felt to me like I was reading two very different books.

Which is not to say the book was all bad. When Jackson does talk about hockey it's interesting and funny and different from a lot of "rah-rah, sports are beautiful" sports writing. She's clearly a fan of the game but she also doesn't hesitate to criticize it, particularly on the topic of violence. I don't have a problem with fighting in general but there have definitely been times when I've been disgusted with how little the league or the players or the Flyers certain teams seem to care about head shots and concussions. Concussions are not broken arms or sprained knee ligaments. When you're dealing with them, you're dealing with a guy's long-term health, something that's going to affect him long after his playing days are through. Jackson is following the Canucks during the time of the Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi incident so that gives her ample opportunity to talk about some of the issues surrounding the game that bother her.

I did also really enjoy the sections of the book that dealt with Jackson's efforts to get interviews with a few players for the book. I have no doubt that being a female in the world of pro sports journalism is sometimes bizarre and uncomfortable even in this day and age and I liked how honest Jackson was about her desire to come across as professional and intelligent but also at least somewhat attractive and how thrilling it was to be up-close with the players she roots for. In those moments, the book really is different from other hockey writing.

But in the end I just didn't feel like there were enough of those moments. And while I do appreciate that there is sometimes a difference in how males and females take in sports and athletes, I don't think it's as easy as men here and women over there. I'm writing this long after I finished the book so I have to admit that now I don't know if it was really the book itself or just the press releases and reviews that came with the book, but it was definitely presented as, "Finally! A woman speaks about hockey!" And while it's true that there doesn't seem to be a ton of writing out there by women about hockey, as I said in the first paragraph, I'm obviously coming at sports different than Jackson is and it's possible I would've liked the book a little more if it had been less "This is how women feel about hockey!" and more "This is how this particular woman feels about hockey." One of my favorite fellow bloggers is Kate of The Willful Caboose and while we're both smart, reasonably insightful fans of hockey (in my oh so humble opinion :P) I think it's pretty safe to say that if we both wrote books about following the Sabres they'd be two very different books.

And while I'm totally getting off-track here (I'm sorry!), at the risk of upsetting my fellow female hockey fans and bloggers, I'm kind of over the whole "I'm a female hockey blogger!" thing. Don't get me wrong, one of my favorite things about the hockey blogosphere is that there are a ton of really smart blogs being written by women and I very, very rarely run into a neanderthal male blogger who disregards my opinion because my handle is clearly a female one which is a refreshing change from real-life. When I first started writing Top Shelf I was very self-conscious about saying anything that was too female-y - I never talked about players being good-looking for example - because I wanted people to take my blog somewhat seriously and I worried that if I mentioned Henrik Tallinder's dimple or Jochen Hecht's shy smile, people would immediately label me a puck bunny. But eventually I decided that was stupid. If John Vogl can talk about which team has the best-looking Ice Girls and still be taken seriously as a journalist, why can't I acknowledge that I think Hank is an extremely talented defenseman AND an extremely handsome man? I don't want to sleep with him. I'm not even sure half the time I want to actually meet him. But yeah, I kind of noticed that he's good-looking. I figure there's enough hockey content here to balance that out and anyone who would accuse me of being a puck bunny is probably not that smart and therefore not worth worrying about. I'm proud to be a woman blogger but I don't really have a desire to wave a flag and yell I AM A WOMAN BLOGGER and I'm just not sure how important it is to other people that I'm female. Do people go read Goose's Roost for the male point-of-view and then come here thinking, "Now to get the female point-of-view!" I don't know, maybe they do. I don't really think so though. I'm just... another blogger, you know?

Anyway... Back to Cold-Cocked. In the end I liked it enough that I would probably check out something else written by Lorna Jackson but it definitely left me wanting. I do seem to be in the minority though from what I've seen. Here are some other reviews:

Scarlett Ice
Untypical Girls
Hockey Blog in Canada

This Post is Pretty Lame

I don't really have too much to say about the Toronto game. It was good to see the Sabres handily beat a team they should beat but I don't know, I almost felt a little bad for the Leafs' fans. Can you imagine watching a team that just looks like it wants the season to be over as soon as possible every night?

So as has been my habit lately, here are some quick hit thoughts:

- Want to know what I think about Chris Drury returning to Buffalo? Too bad. I'm sick of this story and he's not even here yet. Here's what I said before the first Sabres-Rangers game. It all still applies.

- Advertising on goalie's jerseys? No, thanks. I know there are ads all over the arena including along the boards but that's not the same thing as putting ads in the field of play. No, no, no. This is one of those things where I understand every single point brought up in favor, namely increased revenues, but I will refuse this until my dying day no matter how much sense it makes. This article from the Toronto Star features one of the proposed looks and it is awful. Anything that shrinks the team logo that much should be avoided at all costs. Anyone who thinks this is going to start and stop with ads on the goalies is kidding themselves. Also, Dwayne Roloson had this to say: "They have (uniform ads) in Europe and it doesn't take away from the true jersey look." Uh, Dwayne? Are we looking at the same jerseys, you and I?

Ad? What ad? I don't see anything!
- While I kind of understand why people would say a three year contract is an insult compared to contracts being handed out right now, I also hate that the NHL has gotten to the point where three years is looked down upon. I love the idea of players potentially being in one city for a long time, but I also love the idea of teams having some flexibility with their roster. If you're going to sign the entire team to long-term contracts, you'd better be sure you really, really, really like your team.

- Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jochen Hecht, and Paul Gaustad all missed practice today and Lindy Ruff seemed pretty concerned about some of them. Ummm... Yeah. If you said to me, "Hey, Heather, name four players the Sabres have to have come playoff time," you'd get a pretty similar list. Ryan Miller is the most important and I'd throw a defenseman (probably a Swedish one) on the pile, but the above list is not a good one. I have my fingers crossed that any and all x-rays are negative. IR isn't fun, guys! You don't want to join me here!

- I don't know how many of you read non-Sabres blogs but if you haven't read Pensblog's Fleury vs. Conklin trial, you're missing out on one of the best things I've ever read on these here interwebs. It is both ridiculous and smart and screamingly funny, the highlight being the meeting between Judge Charlie and the Daniel Alfredsson line in judge's chambers. I don't know how these guys pulled off this post but I can tell you this: Heather B = stunned.

- We all know that Sabres fans in visitor's arenas seem to have a pretty bad reputation. This photo, taken at the Florida-Boston game last night, shows Sabres fans at their very worst:


I mean, honestly, people. How could you mock Richard Zednik like that? That is so classless!

(Seriously, I'm sure there are people who've had truly dreadful experiences with Sabres fans but if all you got is, "They tried to drown out our cheering," "They booed our star player," or "They stepped on the promotional poster," spare me. That's called "Going to a hockey game.")

Our Powerplay Blows

I believe whole-heartedly that four of my sixth grade students and I - maybe even with the busted ankle - could put together a better powerplay than the Sabres. What the heck? I know Tim Connolly, Jaroslav Spacek, and Derek Roy are all out, but seriously, is it really that hard? I can't believe they just kept taking slapshot after slapshot after slapshot on the almost full two minute 5 on 3. Guys, they keep blocking the shots... I THINK THEY'RE ON TO YOU! Try something else. Flip a wrister in there. Try to pass the puck in to the net. Attempt to bull your way in and see what happens. I don't know. Something! ANYTHING! All I know is when you find yourself sincerely saying, "Well, atleast we didn't give up a goal!" at the end of a powerplay, things are, as RJ said tonight, "NOT GOOD!"

In the battle of underachievers, we're the winners. Or is that the losers? I don't know. I do know the Sabres just didn't look like they wanted to win that much. Of course, I quit paying close attention about halfway through the third period so maybe I missed something. I didn't? Yeah, I'm not surprised.

Clarke MacArthur going into the crossbar at the end of the game was just the perfect topper. I know he skated off the ice but I'm expecting to see him back in time for the 2010-2011 season. It was just one of those nights.

The best part of my night? Seeing Kate of The Willful Caboose playing her viola behind Drew Stafford in tonight's "Drew Plays the BPO!" feature. You guys, I think she was totally checking him out.

Mail Bag Day, Mail Bag Day, Hey,Everybody It's Mail Bag Day!

One of the nice things about being on IR is that people give you stuff. I've gotten more snail mail in the past couple of weeks than in the past couple of years combined and I love snail mail. Don't get me wrong, I love email too. I met Mark on the internet (DC Comics messageboard to be exact) so I appreciate that electronic communication can be genuine and sincere. Still, there's something about opening your mailbox and getting something the old-fashioned way, something cool about someone taking the time to jot a little note, stamp and address an envelope and send it on its way. There's something nice about the physicality of snail mail as opposed to e-mail.

So imagine my delight when I found a card from Kate in my mailbox today. As all of you know from my never-ending whining, Kate was the recipient of the B. Family Ice Bowl tickets after I went down with the ankle injury. Kate has spent the week or so since I offered them to here thanking me incessantly so I wasn't totally surprised to find a nice little card from her.




Awww, how sweet. But wait! What's all this other writing?


Ronan Tynan! He's getting to be like a Buffalo institution so that's pretty cool!


Get well soon... Drew Stafford! Staffy! Sweet! My husband is going to be so jealous! Oh, wait, there's one more scribble down here in the corner...


RYAN MILLER!!!!!! Holy crap, Ryan Miller signed a get well card for me! I kind of fell in love with Ryan on Ice Bowl day - the AMP commercial and him taking a picture of the media horde before his floppy-haired, I-look-like-I'm-wearing-my-dad's-sport-coat postgame press conference all added up to total adorableness. I'll even overlook the lame shootout goal since Gary Bettman obviously did every voodoo dance he could do to ensure that ending. He was probably sticking pins in a Ryan shaped doll. So anyway, I was totally stoked to see "Get well, Ryan Miller" on a card for ME. Have I mentioned that I love blogging? If Bucky Gleason had been unable to attend the Ice Bowl do you think Jerry Sullivan would've had Ryan Miller sign a card for him? I doubt it! (I know journalists aren't supposed to ask athletes for autographs since they have to be all professional and stuff. Just let me go, people! I'm on a roll!) I love blogging and my fellow Buffalo bloggers so much.

Kate, you rock! Thank you a million times over!

Odds and Ends on an Off Day

With rumors of Marv Levy's impending resignation, let me just take this opportunity to offer my fellow bloggers a friendly reminder that "resign" and "re-sign" are not the same thing. They mean pretty much the opposite really and are therefore not interchangeable.

Well, our Ice Bowl tickets have officially changed hands. Today Kate dropped by to snatch them up and it was a picture of agony. Initially I refused to let go and she finally had to pry my fingers away one by one while the sound of my sobbing echoed across the Southtowns. Unfortunately there is no medication that can heal this particular brand of pain. Okay, I'm kidding. We whined and moaned about how the Sabres have been playing, said a prayer that Soupy doesn't end up overpaid, giggled over the big story in the paper about the musical career of Drew Stafford (complete with awesome photos), and assured each other that Ryan Miller loves playing in Buffalo and will be here forever and ever and ever. And then the tickets were happily and proudly passed on to what I'm sure will be a loving and appreciative home. Plus she brought delicious cookies!

And now, the very first Top Shelf Book Review! Rayzor's Edge: Rob Ray's Tough Life on the Ice by Rob Ray and Budd Bailey

I received Rayzor's Edge for Christmas which turned out to be very helpful since reading is, thankfully, not a weight-bearing activity. I read this during my first couple of days home from the hospital. I didn't really expect much of out of it which is probably a good thing because I would've been disappointed. It's not bad, there's just not much to it. I ended up a little sorry that I read all the excerpts featured in the Buffalo News at the time of the book's release because they were some of the most interesting parts of the book. Again, what's here isn't boring but it just feels incomplete, like huge chunks of Rob Ray's career were skipped over. I give Rob credit for being completely upfront about how he feels about people - if he likes them he says so, if he doesn't he says that too. I was disappointed that we didn't get more on the whole John Muckler/Ted Nolan/Dominik Hasek dynamic. Rob says the players were being told different things from different sides and none of them really knew what was going on and while that's probably true, it didn't make for very exciting reading.

Still, despite what may sound like a lukewarm review, it was a good, quick read and I think anyone who was a fan of Rob or the team during his playing years will find something to enjoy. If nothing else, the book definitely gives you the feeling that Rob is sincere in his love for Buffalo and the people here and that's worth something. I might have gotten a little teary-eyed while reading the last page. Then again, that could've been the wooziness from the pain killers.

My favorite story from the book:

After a particularly lackluster game, Ted Nolan canceled the scheduled day off and told the players to show up for practice the next day. He had everyone skate in circles for twenty minutes and then shoot on the goalies for ten minutes. They went through that rotation a few times, skating, shooting, skating, shooting, no one quite sure what was going on. Then Ted stopped them all, screamed, "You wasted everyone's time last night and today I wasted yours!" and turned around and left. Wonder if the fellas had a similar practice this morning...

A few Rob Ray YouTube moments (Pay attention, Andrew Peters. This is how you fight in the NHL):

PLEASE NOTE: SARCASM AND IMMATURITY AHEAD!

Dear Sabres Nation,

It's recently come to my attention that some of you are invading other team's arenas and quite frankly, acting like jerks. Stepping on posters? Wearing t-shirts that cleverly use the word "puck" in place of another word? Booing the home team? My god, people, what are you, animals? (Warning: There is a link included but for the love of all that is holy, don't follow it! You shouldn't be reading non-Sabres blogs! And if you're here and you're not a Sabres fan, get lost already!)

After some input from outside sources, I've put together the following list of rules for behavior when watching the Sabres outside of Buffalo. Please read and follow.

1. Do not wear any clothing that suggests you're rooting for the Sabres. Certainly do not wear anything that is directly anti-home team. Seriously, you're in someone else's building. Use your manners.

2. Do not make any vocalizations of excitement, happiness, joy etc. when the Sabres do something positive. Goals should not be cheered, great plays should not be admired, and for the love of all that's good and right in the hockey world, do not chant "Let's go Buff-a-lo!" Honestly, trying to drown out the locals? That is so uncouth. Polite applause is acceptable as long as you remain seated and stare straight ahead the entire time. Do not ever cheer louder than the home team's fans. If that requires total silence, so be it.

3. Do not direct any negative vocalizations toward the home team. It's not hard, folks. Home team = always good and right. Does it matter that you're not actually cheering for the home team? Are you slow? Because we've clearly established that no, it does not.

3b. As an addendum to rule number 3, do not, under any circumstances, boo the home team's star player. What, were you raised in a barn? It does not matter that getting booed is part and parcel of being a professional athlete. It does not matter that said athlete is, in this year alone, making what I'll make in 55.79 years. It does not matter that this player is not actually playing for your team and it certainly does not matter whether or not this player was not that long ago involved in a questionable play involving one of your star players.

In fact, Buffalo, star players really shouldn't be booed at all. I know, I know... You're scratching your head right now and thinking, "Well, golly, Heather B, I sometimes criticize my own star players, what do I care if other fans do it? I mean, did you see Thomas Vanek play the first few months of the season?" I know, and yes, I did see him play. I think it's very amusing that you're constantly re-calculating how much he's being paid for every point scored. It turns out however that some people don't like that. And can you blame them? God, show a little respect. Thomas Vanek has feelings too. I'm sure he's cut to the bone every time you call him the "Seven Million Dollar Man" with that biting and sarcastic tone in your voice.

3c. The above rule applies to photographs and written descriptions of said star player as well. Stepping on said player's face? Outrageous! Making fun of his physical appearance? Immature! And also reprehensible! And don't even thinking about busting out a black marker for doodling purposes. That's a one-way ticket to fan hell. You'll spend the rest of your life in a small empty room with Sean Avery and Chris Simon.

Seriously, though, the above rules aside... What the hell are you people doing still cheering for the Sabres anyway? I mean, you left Buffalo! I know the economy here is struggling and the job market is tough, but good lord, man up already. If you want to work in book publishing or entertainment so badly, pool your resources and start up a publishing company or a movie studio right here. It can't be that hard. Not making enough to support your family? Hey, kids are resilient creatures, they can survive on pork and beans. Or even better, make the little brats work for their keep. It builds character. It's about sacrifices, people. If you can't make it work here, get out and don't come back.

Listen, I know that Buffalo is a city that gets under you skin and worms its way into your heart. I know that no matter where you are, chances are you're dreaming about crisp autumn evenings and soft, fluttery snow. I know you'd much rather be knocking back beers in the parking lot at Ralph Wilson on a blustery Sunday morning than watching the Bills in your living room across the country and I know you'd prefer to be walking out of HSBC Arena, surrounded by thousands of honking cars than watching the Sabres in a bar with a small crowd of fellow transplants. I know you're staring at your Christmas tree and thinking the season just isn't complete without sponge candy and fresh snow. I know you wish your kids were growing up in the same neighborhood you did and I know that you're sad that things didn't work out that way. I know that Buffalo is exactly the kind of hard-working, humble, friendly city that grabs your heart and, despite years and miles, never really lets go. I know you'll always tell people you're from Buffalo and you'll always say it proudly. And I know you'll be back here in a heartbeat if you ever get the chance.

Which is why you're an asshole for leaving. God! New plan: When you turn in your New York license plate, you also hand over all your Sabres and Bills memorabilia, Benedict Arnold.

(Don't bother commenting on this post. If you're not a Sabres fan, you shouldn't even be reading this. If you insist on commenting - even if it's thoughtful and reasonable - I'm just going to gather up all my Buffalo homies - those of us who still live here, that is - and say, "Hey, look at the little ENTER TEAM HERE fan. He shouldn't even be here. Am I right or am I right?")

Heather B, breaking all the rules.

(Programming note: I'll try to be back to my usual insightful and mature self later. My deepest apologies to anyone who can't make any sense of this post. Just please come back tomorrow.)

A Little Good News

A few days ago I shared a little about why I blog and what I love about it. I think it's fair to say that overall I have pretty humble aspirations. I want a place to vent and remember and a few people to interact with. But even the humblest of bloggers has dreams, and I'm proud to say that one of my deepest dreams has now come true. That's right, I am November's Featured Fangirl over at SportSquee. (Yes, I know November is over. Take it up with, Margee.) SportSquee is quite simply one of my favorite websites on the internet and if you're not a regular visitor, you're really missing out. For the males in the audience, it's okay... I assure you that my personal sports squees are totally based on things like talent and character. Dimples and playoff beards mean nothing to me. Nothing. So go check me out, y'all!

On Blogs and Blogging

In response to the response to the Hockey Night in Canada piece on hockey bloggers, Pookie and Schnookie of Interchangeable Parts created this questionnaire. It's already inspired a lot of really interesting discussion over there about hockey blogs and all the various things we look for in them and love about them. I've decided to tackle it myself because truly, there is nothing more stimulating than bloggers blogging about blogging.

1. WHAT WAS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR STARTING BLOGGING? HAS THAT CHANGED AT ALL IN THE TIME YOU'VE BEEN BLOGGING?
There a few reasons I started blogging.

One, I really enjoyed reading blogs and that naturally led to thoughts about writing one of my own. The bad ones made me think, "I could totally do that better." The good ones made me think, "I don't know if I could to that as well, but it sure looks like fun."

Two, it turned out I had a lot to say. When I first joined Hockey's Ladies of Greatness I really didn't think I'd write that much. Outside of posting on a few message boards here and there, I'd never put my thoughts about hockey down anywhere. Instead I wrote all the time. I had something to say about every topic that was presented. If you look at the HLoG archives around the time I joined, you'll find a plethora of posts and comments from me, most very long and detailed. I'm sure there were members who were thinking, "Her again?" and to this day I'm convinced the first "Should we impose a word limit?" email was sent around in response to me. Once I realized I had so much to say, it seemed natural to start a blog of my own.

And three, I've always loved to write. I have journals going back to the third grade. Every important moment of my life, everything that's happened in the world around me during those years, it's all documented somewhere. Last season part of me really felt like the Sabres might win the Stanley Cup and I wanted to be able to look back years from now and remember exactly where I was and what I was feeling when it happened. I wanted to remember all the little details about games and players that start to drift from your memory as time goes by and events get further away.

I don't think any of that has really changed. I still enjoy the blogging community, I still find myself with plenty to say, and I still want to remember everything when the Sabres win it all. (Shut up.)

2. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR BLOG CONTRIBUTES TO THE HOCKEY CONVERSATION?
Eek, I don't know. I think I'm in kind of good middle ground - I've been watching hockey long enough that I have a pretty decent understanding of what's going on on the ice, but it's new enough to me that I still see the wonder and the magic of the game. I haven't been beaten down by years of watching Buffalo teams lose and I don't take having local pro sports teams for granted. Certainly, not every long-time fan is like that but I do think that for a lot of people, a little bit of cynicism starts to creep in as the years go by. That hasn't happened for me yet.

3. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF THE BLOGS YOU READ?
Something different. I tend to avoid blogs written in an informative, newspaper-y style because, well if I wanted that I'd read the newspaper. I want strong opinions - doesn't matter to me if I agree or disagree. I want to be entertained and amused. A little fun never hurt anybody. I want interaction with other fans. I want facts and stats broken down and presented in different ways. My favorite hockey blogs all provide one or more of those things.

4. WHAT DETERMINES WHICH BLOGS YOU READ AND WHICH ONES YOU DON'T?
In addition to the above, I want good writing and decent grammar and spelling. I know most people are writing their blogs for fun but if any part of you is writing to be read, take the time to read over your work, run spell check, and fix any glaring mistakes. Seriously, it's not that hard.

5. HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ISSUE OF GAINING PRESS ACCESS TO YOU AS A BLOGGER?
Generally speaking, I'd love to see bloggers who want access be given some way to receive it. Journalists can squawk all they want about having degrees and experience but good journalism comes down to one thing: Can you write? Sitting in four years of classes doesn't make you a better writer. Writing makes you a better writer and you can do that anywhere. I can name numerous bloggers whose work is as interesting, insightful, and entertaining as any professionals'.

Do I personally want press access? I don't know. I don't think so. I'd love to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I want to see how Lindy interacts with the players off the ice, I want to see how the players interact with each other, I want to know what Darcy Regier does in a typical day. I'd like to follow the team on a road trip just to see what they do when they're not playing. I'd love to stand back and observe all the stupid little details that I find interesting - what kind of music is playing in the dressing room (if any), who has photos and knick-knacks up in his stall, who carries a book or magazine with him, who does the talking, who does the screaming, who sits back and takes everything in. The life of a professional athlete is so different from the mine and I'm fascinated by that.

But I don't know if I really want to interact with the players on a regular basis. I like having a bit of a wall between me and them. If someone's a massive jerkwad to the people around him, I don't want to know. If one player is sleeping with another player's wife or girlfriend, I don't want to hear whispers about it. I need to like the players I'm cheering for a little bit and I'd hate to wake up one day and realize I don't like my team anymore.

I also don't want to turn in my fan card. I love pulling on my jersey before a game. I love sitting with the rowdies in the 300s. I want to be able to cheer for goals or amazing plays and I want to be able to boo certain opponents and bad calls. That stuff is what hockey is to me and I love it too much to give it up.

6. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU FEEL ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONTENT OF YOUR BLOG? HOW CONCERNED DO YOU THINK READERS SHOULD FEEL ABOUT THE AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF YOUR BLOG?
It's my writing so I feel accountable in the sense that I want everything here to be of a certain quality and clear and easy to read. I don't pretend to be bringing anyone the inside dope - I don't quote players or coaches unless I'm taking the quote from somewhere else and when I do that, I always mention the source - so I don't think anyone out there should be concerned about me making stuff up. Pretty much everything here is presented as my opinion and in some ways I think I'm more reliable than the mainstream media because I'm upfront about my biases. Mark and I have a running joke that Maxim Afinogenov must've beat up Bucky Gleason's kid and stolen his lunch money because for a while Bucky's criticism of Max was ridiculous. Way beyond what he deserved and moving awfully close to personally insulting. Journalists are human beings and regardless of what they say about being impartial observers, you can't tell me that there aren't coaches and players that they like and coaches and players they don't like and you can't tell me that doesn't sometimes affect the way they judge those people's performances and report on them, even if it's very subtle. Anyone who's read my blog for some period of time knows how I feel about different players. If I'm particularly hard on Afinogenov and Ales Kotalik you can take it with a grain of salt because I don't hide the fact that I find their inconsistency to be a little infuriating. If I let Derek Roy or Dmitri Kalinin slide on poor play you can take that with a grain of salt too because I've mentioned numerous times that I love both guys and I've admitted that I overlook mistakes from them that I would never overlook if other players were making them.

7. HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT THE AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE BLOGS YOU READ? DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT TO JUDGE THE AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE BLOGS YOU READ?
Honestly, I'm not very concerned at all. If bloggers were throwing out quotes from players with no source I'd be suspicious, but I think most hockey bloggers are pretty responsible about that kind of thing. Most of the blogs I read regularly are opinion based so that gives the author a lot of leeway. As long as the opinions are reasonably presented and argued, I'm okay with it. And you know what, sometimes opinions have no basis in reality at all. I can't think of a single reason why I want to punch Mike Comrie in the face but I do. Having irrational loves and hates is part of being a fan and as long as a blogger is upfront about writing as a fan, I have no problem with that at all.

8. WHAT VALUE, IF ANY, DO YOU THINK BLOGGING BRINGS TO THE NHL?
I think it gives fans in non-traditional markets a way to connect with other fans. I think it gives fans who are unhappy with their local coverage - for whatever reason - another way to find information. I think, if they're willing, it gives the league a way to tap into the opinions of large groups of fans on various issues (we think the jersey re-designs are ugly, we don't like the shoot-out, female fans don't necessarily want pink apparel, we hate the way you keep changing things just to change things, we think your suspensions are lame and toothless and we're concerned about the physical well-being of our players etc.). Considering how much we hear about "what the fans want" that should be of value to the powers that be.

If you made it through all that, congratulaions! Here's a photo I doctored up a while ago and never got around to posting. Please accept it along with my eternal gratitude for muddling through. (I totally stole the idea of using a funny picture to make the dryness go down easier from The Willful Caboose.)

Sweet Caroline

I had a post in mind about the relationship between Sabres fans and Canes fans - never fear, Canes fans, there was going to be some criticism directed at both sides - but it was pretty negative in tone so I'm going to save it for another day. Because really, who wants to be negative after an 8-1 victory?

This game was supposed to be a girls' night out with some of my buddies but every single one of them bailed on me. Can you believe it? Kathy couldn't find a babysitter/had a broom ball conflict, Monica was feeling under the weather, and Sue took a spill last weekend and fractured her knee cap and a couple of vertebrae. (Okay, that last one is a pretty good excuse.) One of the girls was kind enough to give us her ticket however and Mark and I spread out across four seats and enjoyed the game. Some observations:

- I'm sorry Sue missed out because she's a big fan of Maxim Afinogenov and I think this was hands down Max's best game this season. He was wreaking havoc on an obviously tired Canes squad while being far more responsible with the puck than he has been. He was either getting it on net, finding teammates, or carrying it to open ice. I don't remember a single bad turnover. Nice to see Lindy reward his effort with the highest amount of ice-time for any forward, pretty impressive since it felt like we were short-handed for the entire second period. For all my griping about Max, it has been tough watching him struggle so I was pretty happy to see him playing so well. Maybe he's turning a corner?

- I thought the Afinogenov-Gaustad-Kotalik line seemed like a weird mish-mash of playing styles and I was pretty critical of it before the game but it worked. The whole line really had a good game. Al also had one of his better games of the season.

- Derek Roy continues to look much better. He was really buzzing and it was nice to see him bury that breakaway. What a beautiful pass by Tim Connolly. That said, Timmy needs to shoot more often because good things often happen when he does. He has such a nice little shot. It's not overwhelmingly powerful but he places it so well.

- Thomas Vanek was not overwhelming. I don't remember him looking terrible outside of the two bad penalties he took but he wasn't the Vanek who was dominating play in the couple of games before the St. Louis game. On one hand it's nice that we can win games without him chipping in a lot - for all the crying about Drury and Briere leaving, the Sabres still have the potential for very balanced scoring as seen tonight - it would be nice to see him playing a little more consistently. Just lighten up and shoot the puck, Thomas. It'll happen.

- Before the season I thought Brian Campbell had a good shot at wearing a letter, but he seemed like an unusual choice for December, since he's been a little bit of a mess in the last couple of games, his performance against Washington being particularly bad. But I thought Toni Lydman was an odd choice for November and that worked out pretty darn well with Toni playing like a friggin' beast all month. I wonder if Lindy is using the letters as a little bit of a "Show me what you got, kid" encouragement tool. Brian did lead the team in ice-time tonight and even more surprisingly to me, he led the team in short-handed time (according the NHL.com summary). I didn't notice any glaring mistakes so maybe the letter will look good on him.

- Jochen Hecht gets an A to make him a letter-wearer every month so far with Jaroslav Spacek getting the other A. I got no beef with either of those choices - Jochen has continued to play very solid hockey and I find myself being very pleased for Jaro. He now has more goals this season than he did all of last season. Good for you, Jaro. Let's see how many crazy interviews we can cram in this month, shall we?

- Nolan Pratt was in a foul mood tonight and I love it. I love the way this guy takes care of his teammates, especially Ryan Miller. When Dmitri Kalin and Henrik Tallinder are both back in the line-up I really hope it's Paetsch sitting and not Pratt. I think we need that little bit of edge, especially on the blue line.

Hockey Night in Canada did a really interesting feature on hockey blogs this evening. One of the things it discussed was how some teams like Washington are using bloggers as alternative media sources. Buffalo wasn't mentioned as one of the teams considering opening the press box to bloggers but someone in the organization really needs to take a look at it, I think. Buffalo isn't in the same situation as Washington - they get pretty much no coverage from local papers and TV - but Buffalo is a one newspaper town and as I've said before, I find much of the Buffalo News coverage to be negative and one-sided. The Sabres wouldn't be able to control what bloggers say but it might be to their advantage to help get some new and different voices out there.

Anyway, I thought the piece was well-done and pretty positive. If you missed it, scoot on over to Mirtle's and check it out. He has a video posted.